CLAIMED

1

“What is it, Ezekiel?” Kazan asked, a bit irritated. He was in the middle of a sparring session with his martial instructor and father figure, Grand Master Dorian, when he noticed his right-hand man, little brother, and best friend standing at the side for the past five minutes. It seems he has something important to say.

It better be, because Kazan hates getting interrupted while training.

“Your majesty.” Ezekiel, a handsome black male cloaked in white, close-fitting clothing that displayed his honed physique, acknowledged Kazan with a slight bow. He then greeted Dorian with the greatest respect. “Grandfather.”

“Enough with the formalities, Ziki. Just say why you are here already.”

“Apologies for the disruption, Sovereign. But there is an urgent matter that needs your attention.”

“Can’t it wait until I’m done here?” Kazan blocked three strong, swift blows from Dorian, who seemed unmoved by earthly matters and only focused on the opponent before him. And when he tried to counterattack with a blow just as fast and powerful, he got knocked down on his behind. Hard. If he hadn’t been a tough guy, he might have broken his spine from that violent fall.

“I’m afraid it cannot.”

“Hooo. Thank you for the martial lesson, Grand Master Dorian. Let’s do this again tomorrow at the same time.” Kazan got up from the floor, lowering his head reverently to Dorian, who did the same before fleeing the scene with supernatural speed.

“So, what is so important that you feel the need to disrupt my training session?” Kazan reached for his towel on the bench to dry his sweaty, bearded face and bare torso, which seemed to be forged from diamonds.

“We’ve caught a stray,” Ezekiel replied zealously.

“A stray?” Kazan snorted. “Ziki, please tell me you didn’t interrupt my training session for some stray.”

“Well, this is not just any stray, Kaz. It’s the one that you’ve been hunting for the past week now.”

Seven days ago, Kazan made it his main duty to hunt this pesky stray, who has been sneaking in and out of his territory for who knows how long. It’s been terrorizing and stealing food from his people. It even injured several skilled warriors, whom he ordered to bring the fiend to justice. However, that lucky bastard managed to escape him every time.

Therefore, it brings him some relief and joy to know that this bastard, who has been a pain in his neck, the bastard that caused him many sleepless nights, is now somehow apprehended by Ezekiel.

He’s somewhat curious, though, to learn how it happened. How did Ezekiel manage to do something he wasn’t able to accomplish? But right now, he’s just too anxious to strangle the life out of this stray with his bare hand.

“Where is that bastard?” Kazan crushed his fist angrily. “Bring him to me right now!”

“Her,” Ezekiel corrected.

“Her?” The confused Kazan repeated.

“Sovereign. The stray you have repeatedly failed to capture day after day and night after night is a young female,” Ezekiel teased with an amused smile.

“What? That’s not possible.” Kazan couldn’t bring himself to believe what Ezekiel had just told him. There is no way a girl could cause him this much trouble. He was outsmarted and bested by a girl.

Not only is that humiliating, but it hurts his pride as a sovereign, or as they called people of his status in human mythology, alpha. It hurts the prestige of his mighty pack, which is feared by many. And this makes him even more upset.

“Bring her in, boys,” Ezekiel said aloud, and two men came into the training room, dragging a human-sized cage with a woman whose hands and feet were bound in shackles inside.

Kazan took a good look at the young lady. And damn, she is a beautiful sight to behold: a carmel complexion, a slender, shapely figure, long, dark curly hair, and bright brown eyes that had a fierce gleam in them. The girl looks no older than seventeen or eighteen.

Heh. There is no way this delicate girl is the stray that caused so much damage and humiliation to his pack. She looks so weak, like she can’t even harm a fly.

However, Ezekiel wouldn’t dare lie about such a serious matter.

“Who are you, and what’s your purpose for antagonizing my pack?” Kazan sternly asked the woman, but she blatantly ignored him. It’s as if he didn’t exist.

“Do you know the penalty for stealing from my pack and causing harm to my warriors? It’s death.” Kazan tried to intimidate her with his strong voice and violent demeanor, but she seemed fearless. That is strange. Every ordinary wolf that meets him, especially women and children, normally cowers before his might. So why does it seem like she’s unaffected? Unless she’s not ordinary.

“Say something,” he demanded.

“Can I get something to eat?” The young girl, Leah, asked as she looked Kazan directly in those stern blue eyes. He doesn’t scare her one bit. “All your constant blabbering is making me hungry.”

The seemingly appalled Ezekiel found the young lady’s response very amusing and was eager to see how this turned out. The two men who brought the stray girl in, however, felt fear in their hearts. They know how fearsome and ruthless Sovereign Kazan is toward his enemies. That is why no one dares disrespect or offend him. Not even those big shots—the Sovereigns from the other packs in the surrounding area. But this girl just talked to him as if he were a nobody. She must have hit her head hard or had a death wish.

“You little!” Kazan growled. The nerve of this girl talking to him in such a disrespectful manner appalled and angered him.

“Release me from this cage, and I will show you who the real little one here is,” Leah retorted. How did she end up in a crappy situation like this again? Oh, yeah, that is why.

Last night, she managed to safely steal some food for dinner, and man, it was delicious. However, it was dosed with a high dosage of bane salt, which is unscented, making it undetectable to a lycan’s strong sense of smell. And it also has the ability to deplete a lycan’s vitality and strength to zero. If she had been an ordinary lycan, she would be dead right now.

Anyway, by the time she realized that she had been poisoned, it was too late.

When she regained consciousness, she was bound in shackles and locked inside this cage that is made from white onyx, the only thing strong enough to imprison or kill a lycan. Her strength is also severely weakened at the moment. And now she’s being annoyed to death by this prick. This is just too much.

In the time it takes to blink, the upset Kazan swooshes over to the cage, seizing Leah’s throat with the intention of choking the life out of her.

“How can you call yourself a man? Attacking a defenseless woman. Puh!” Leah taunted, and Kazan’s grip got even stronger—powerful enough to snap an ordinary lycan’s neck. It’s a good thing she’s not your average female lycan. However, she’s not indestructible either, at least not in her current state. If this bastard keeps this up, he might take her head. It seems she has no choice but to take him down with her. “You are worse than scum.”

“You,” Kazan snarled, losing what little cool he had left. And as he gears up to finish her—to detach her head from her shoulders—Leah uses the chains attached to the shackles on her arms to wrap his arm. Pull as hard as she can, bashing him into the cage. Afterward, she sank her fangs into his neck. And no matter how much he struggled or used his other hand to beat her in the head, she wouldn’t let go.

It took a powerful blow to the head from Ezekiel to knock her unconscious, thus freeing Kazan from her mouth.

Blood sprayed from Kazan’s neck like a fountain, and no matter how he covered the wound with his hand, it wouldn’t stop. And strangely, his healing abilities don’t seem to be working at the moment. He then starts to feel light in his head. Everything turned dark, and he came crashing down.

Luckily, Ezekiel was there to catch him and urgently rush him to the hospital before he bled out to death.